STEVE MACFARLANE, QMI Agency

TORONTO — Conspiracy theorists might buy into the idea Robyn Regehr might be sitting out based on a potential trade and not because of injury should have seen him try to skate Friday in Ottawa.

That twirl didn’t last very long.

His attempt Saturday went better, but the Calgary Flames cornerstone defenceman isn’t taking any chances with his history of knee problems.

“Not bad,” Regehr said of how he felt after the optional morning skate at the Air Canada Centre before his Flames took on the Toronto Maple Leafs without him. “Unfortunately, not good enough to play yet. But it’s good to get out there and skate a little bit and see what it was like.

“I didn’t try to push it too much. Up to about 70-75%.”

Regehr hopes to be up to 100% in time for Monday’s clash against the Canadiens in Montreal.

“I’m hoping,” he said. “As long as things keep healing.

“I’m not trying to make any foolish decisions.”

During a scrum in Carolina in overtime, Regehr got hit as he was turning along the boards and immediately knew something was wrong.

“Something moved out of place or did something it wasn’t supposed to,” he said.

Playing all of last season with painful patellar tendonitis, Regehr has been taking great care of his legs this season by coming to the rink early and warming up and getting treatment whenever he needs a little extra care.

The 6-foot-3, 225-pounder also wears braces on both his knees for protection.

“Unfortunately, knees and shoulders are what get hurt when you’re playing this sport. There’s a lot of those injuries,” Regehr said with a shrug.